Five top tips when entering Clearing in 2024 after A levels results day from a local education expert

Andy Cotterill, Head of Global Undergraduate Student Recruitment and Access at Keele University provides his five top tips for Clearing 2024

Going into A Levels results day can be a nervous time: not knowing what to expect, not sure what your next destination might be. Clearing can be an answer to give you a better idea of what your potential choices are, no matter your circumstances. Whether you want to change your mind, or whether you haven’t been successful in getting your first choice university place, here are five top tips from Keele University to make your clearing journey a success.

1) Check your UCAS Hub first

If you’re unsure about whether you’ve had your chosen university place confirmed, make sure to check your UCAS Hub. There can be a variety of reasons why you might have a decision you weren’t expecting to see, including if you’ve decided on a change of course,

or perhaps you will have been accepted without getting the grades you originally needed. The UCAS decision will have been worked out by universities and will be correct.

2) Make sure to get your results

When applying through Clearing, you’ll need to share your results with university teams. If you don’t have them to hand when you’re talking to university staff, they won’t be able to give you a clear answer on whether they can offer you a place, so make sure you have your results ready before contacting universities.

3) Contact as many options as possible

It can be tricky to make quick decisions when it comes to Clearing. There are a lot of options out there and narrowing down your choices can be hard. Going into Clearing, it’s best to make sure you have a plan of courses and universities that might be of interest to you, but make sure to speak to everyone you want to. Explore your options and give yourself the best choice you can.

4) Only submit one Clearing choice

On your UCAS Hub, you can only add one Clearing choice, so it’s important you’ve fully considered your options and made sure you’re choosing the right one. It’s also the reason it’s so important to make sure you’ve spoken to the university prior to submitting your Clearing choice on UCAS so that you know whether they’re happy to make you an offer or not and accept you onto your desired course.

5) Approach Results Day with a plan

You might be feeling confident, or perhaps a bit nervous going into Results Day, but going in with a plan for a range of different potential scenarios can save you time and potential stress on the day. Think about universities and courses that might be a good match for you if things don’t go to plan, even if you may not need to use them.

A final note from Andy….

Whatever happens when you get your results, here at Keele we wish you all the best with your next steps. If you’re not sure what to do and want someone to speak to in Clearing, you can always call our friendly team on 01782 491120, or visit www.keele.ac.uk/clearing